The Fallen
by FalseFacts
Summary: We all have fallen for someone who did not love us back. For Jervis it was when he fell in love with Alice, for the new girl at Arkham it's when she fell for The Mad Hatter.OC X Jervis, Jervis X Alice.DISCONTINUED.
1. First Day At Arkham

**Full Summary****: We all at one point or another have fallen for someone who did not love us back. For Jervis Tetch it was when he fell in love with Alice Pleasance, for the new girl at Arkham it's when she fell for The Mad Hatter. Mean while Dr. Leland must struggle to cope with her daughter's death, her failing marriage, and her patients' twisted problems. All this leads her to question reality it's self and the true nature of humanity. OC X Jervis, Jervis X Alice, hinted Jonathan X Harley.**

**Warning: Rating may be subject to change, bloody scenes and lemons to follow in later chapters. **

**AN: I of course DO NOT own this. I only own my OCs Carol and Molly, everyone else belongs to DC comics, Bruce Timm, and Paul Dini. Some characters have been altered a bit to fit the story so don't be pissed. Hope you enjoy!**

July 7th, 1992

It was late one night in Arkham. Jervis Tetch, or as he was more commonly known as "The Mad Hatter", was having difficulty sleeping. Thoughts of Alice Pleasance were swirling around in his mind. Not even good old Lewis Carroll could put him to rest that night. He sat up in bed looking into the next cell. Through the bars of his cell Tetch could see Jonathan Crane fast asleep. Jervis had hopped that the man would be up as well but he had sadly fallen asleep hours ago. _Nothing to do and no one to talk to, how dull._ The asylum was unusually quite that night, no laughter from The Joker and no psychotic ramblings from The Riddler. Then Tetch heard the sound of foot steps of two guards and one unknown being.

"Boy, the crazies are gonna love ya." laughed one of the guards as they were passing by Tetch's cell. The guards had in their possession a new inmate. She was young, no more then 16 if she was even that. She was about 4 inches shorter then Jervis, with snow colored flesh and raven like hair. Her sweet face was only amplified by her pale blue eyes and soft pouty lips. _She is just a child and yet she had somehow managed to find her self locked away in a place like this, how odd._

Tetch noted that the girl could barley fit the standard Asylum uniform, the sleeves hung limply over her hands and it somehow made her look even younger. Tetch looked at the girl and the girl looked at Tetch. The girl smiled and Jervis waved, the girl then turned away in embarrassment. Jervis could see her cheeks turn a lovely shade of pink. _Curiouser and Curiouser_. The girl was led away by the two guards, down the hall near Harley Quinn's cell. Then there was no more sound.

July 8th, 1992

The next morning Dr. Joan Leland arrived At Arkham Asylum at 7:15 preciously, the way she had for past 10 years. She was a criminal psychologist and very proud of her job but it was not said pride that forced her to rise so early and stay so late, nor was Dr. Bartholomew; in fact according to her contract she did not have to be at work till 9 when all the patients had finished breakfast. What caused her to rise was a mystery to most as she kept people at arms length. To know Dr. Leland as a person and past just that of her dedication was like to solve a great puzzle that few had tried. Dr. Leland was about to enter her office when an orderly told her that she had been summoned by Dr. Bartholomew. By this point Dr. Leland knew that the only time Dr. Bartholomew would want to speak to her or any other Doctor is when a new patient had arrived. She also knew that the only cases she was assigned to were the ones that were by most considered to be a challenge, to her they were exhausting.

"Hello Dr. Leland, please sit down." Dr. Bartholomew was sitting in his oversized chair and sitting at his oversized desk in his oversized office. Everything in that room looked about half the size of all of Arkham, everything except Dr. Bartholomew. The only reason he had been allowed to take over the asylum was because his father had married into what remained of the Arkham family.

Dr. Leland sat in the smaller seat across from Dr. Bartholomew. "Dr. Leland, we recently got a new patient and I want you to be her physiatrist." Leland nodded. "Good now here's her file. As you'll notice it's missing some information but you will be seeing her at 3 for group therapy and tomorrow at 1 for your private session, so you can fill in the details there." Leland nodded again, noticing that the girl's last name wasn't on the file or even so much as a birth date. There's just one thing you should know." Bartholomew paused "What is it?"

"She's 16."

"What? And you expect me to have her in the same therapy session with Jervis Tetch? Not to mention the fact that this is Arkham, surely whatever a 16 year old girl did is nothing compared to the others." Dr. Leland could feel a migraine coming on. Not that she minded a challenge but an asylum like Arkham was filled with pedophiles and rapists and now she was entrusted in the care of a child.

"Dr. Leland I know it sounds like a lot but you've been able to manage Jack Naiper (The Joker) just fine, so I know you'll be able to handle this. As to what she did it's all spelled out in the file but basically she murdered two people in cold blood while they were asleep then claimed that she blacked out and didn't remember doing anything."

"As to what to do about Mr. Tetch and the new girl it could be very beneficial for him, after all it'd give him a chance to resist his urges."

Dr. Leland looked baffled "…Ugh…Dr. Bartholomew, Jervis isn't attracted to children…he just has the mind of a child and her presence might make it a bit difficult for him to open up and contribute to the group as he'd be too busy talking to her."

"Ah! Right...well you obviously know him better then I do so best of luck. If there's a problem you know where to find me." That of coarse was just code for "Get the hell out of my office, I don't five a damn."

_Oh__, how could this day get any better?_

July 8th, 1992

That afternoon at 3 o'clock Jervis Tetch, Jonathan Crane, and Edward Nygma were escorted to one of the smaller therapy rooms. Inside the room were six chairs set up; four for the patients, one for the doctor, and two empty ones for those who had recently escaped. Two buff guards were positioned on ether wall. The men took their seats and waited for Dr. Leland to enter.

"Did you hear, we have someone new joining our therapy session?" Questioned Nygma to no one in particular

"So you saw her too?" asked Jervis

"No, but word does travel fast around here."

A moment later the door opened and Dr. Leland entered. Behind her was another buff guard and next to him in handcuffs was the girl Tetch had seen the night before. The girl did not wait for her handcuffs to be taken off instead she ran towards Jervis with all the excitement of a child entering Disneyworld for the first time. "Jervis!"

The girl sat down next to Jervis and in one fluid motion grabbed his waist and pressed herself deeply against his side. Jervis didn't know how to react as he hadn't had someone be this affectionate to him since…his mother. Still Jervis did like children, especially girls so he played along and put a hand on her head. He played with her hair and twisted it around his finger. "Hello my dear. What's your name?"

"Jervis do you know Carol already?" asked Dr. Leland trying to put a stop to the silence in the room by asking the question the others wanted to know but wouldn't ask.

"Not at all but she's seems to know me." Jervis continued to lovingly play with the girls black locks.

"Carol, could you please let go of Jervis."

Carol shook her head, still pressed up against Jervis. "I haven't seen him in such a long time."

Dr. Leland was about to ask how it was possible to not see someone for so long yet not know them but the Edward barged in "I get it, Carol you're a stalker"

"Am not." Mumbled Carol

"Yes, you are."

"No I am not."

"Yes, you are!"

"No I'm Not!"

"Alright, alright." Said Dr. Leland, trying to regain her command over the group. "As you all can see we have a new patient and her name is Carol. Now, Carol you obviously have seen Jervis before. Do you mind telling us where?"

Carol was still nestled up against Tetch but was facing Dr. Leland now "When he worked at Wayne Tech I lived across the street from his office, so I used to see him all the time. Then one day he didn't come back."

"Do you know why Jervis is here?" asked Dr. Leland

Carol nodded "Because he fell in love."

"It wasn't love. It was an obsession." Corrected Dr. Leland "Do you know why Professor Crane and Mr. Nygma are here?"

Carol nodded again "Because of there pride." This time Dr. Leland didn't seem to feel the need to correct her.

Carol looked over to Jonathan and Edward and said "Hello, I'm Carol. Do you prefer to be called John or Johnny?"

Crane crossed his arms "I prefer Professor Crane."

Carol blinked at him emptily "I'll call you Jonathan, then."

Both Jervis and Edward smiled at this, a joke between the two.

"And I'll call you Eddie." Nygma was less then thrilled about that and he too crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

"Before we begin, could you please tell me your last name, Carol?"

"I don't have one."

"Everyone has a last name."

"I don't."

"What about a birthday?"

"They said it's sometime in April and that the year was 1976 but I doubt they knew themselves."

"Who is "they"?" the question came from Jervis

"The people who found me."

"Found you where?" asked Dr. Leland

"On the side of the road along side my twin sister, Molly."

Before Dr. Leland could ask another round about question Carol started to giggle.

"I feel so stupid for forgetting to ask but what happened to your hat?" Carol said lightly tapping the top of Tetch's head

Jervis smiled slightly embarrassed, after all what was a hatter without his hat?

"They are doing another weekly check to make sure I'm not hiding any mind control cards in there."

Carol nodded satisfied with his answer.

"Carol we'll get to your childhood in a little bit but first would you like to share why you were sent to Arkham?"

Carol shook her head

"Then I'll tell them. Carol murdered Mr. and Mrs. Rolland in their sleep. When the police found her she was soaked in blood and swinging on the swings at Gothem Central Park."

The three men stared at the girl, confusion stained the air

"I don't remember killing them. I blacked out and then when I woke up I was in the park."

Carol looked up at Jervis "I swung all the way around the bar."

"Did you now? I tried that once myself but I almost fell off I think I did something wrong."

"Oh it's real easy, I'll teach you one day."

"How often do you have these blackouts?" Dr. Leland asked

"A lot."

"When was your first black out?"

"When I was seven."

"What do you remember before and after that first blackout?"

"Molly and I were sleeping when I woke up I was the Metropolis bus station."

"What did you do then?"

"I walked home. I didn't have any money so I kinda had to. When I got back my sister was gone."

"Gone?"

"She disappeared. I looked for her for days but I never found her." Tetch felt sorry for Carol and he rubbed her back

"Why didn't your parents call the police? Why wasn't anyone else looking for her..." the questions went on and on but Carol refused to say a word.

"I have an excellent suggestion, let's change the subject!" proclaimed Carol, finally removing her self from Tetch's side.

Jonathan gave himself a face palm; another wonderland freak had entered the room. Jervis on the other hand just sat and smiled proudly at the girl, he finally had someone new to play with.

**EN: I apologies for any spelling/grammatical errors I will try to fix them up when I have time. **


	2. What's In A Name?

**Full Summary****: We all at one point or another have fallen for someone who did not love us back. For Jervis Tetch it was when he fell in love with Alice Pleasance, for the new girl at Arkham it's when she fell for The Mad Hatter. Mean while Dr. Leland must struggle to cope with her daughter's death, her failing marriage, and her patients' twisted problems. All this leads her to question reality it's self and the true nature of humanity. OC X Jervis, Jervis X Alice**

**Warning: Rating may be subject to change, bloody scenes and lemons to follow in later chapters. **

**AN: I of course DO NOT own this. I only own my OCs Carol and Molly, everyone else belongs to DC comics, Bruce Timm, and Paul Dini. Some characters have been altered a bit to fit the story so don't be pissed. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

July 9th, 1992

Carol sat on the wooden chair and swung her legs back and forth. She looked at them and then at then back up at Dr. Leland, who sat across from her with a pen and pad in her hand.

Carol continued to swing her legs and fidget violently in her wooden chair. This was Carol's first private therapy session and they had been in the therapy room for 20 minutes of just sitting there. For every question Dr. Leland asked her Carol simply replied "I don't know." or nothing at all. Carol had been kept in solitary confinement most of the day before and all of the night.

"Why did you kill Mr. and Mrs. Rolland?" Dr. Leland tried again

That's when Carol said something that wasn't so childish

"That name is what people are so confused about, isn't it? No one cares that I killed people, they are only curious because I killed the Rolland's."

"Of course people care when other people are murdered but I admit that because of the Rolland's social status it does raise more questions about their murders."

The Rolland's were old money dating back to the 1800's and to find the last of Rolland family with throats slit in bed was cause' for shock and udder confusion. Then to find that the murderer was a homeless 16 year old girl only caused more uproar in the high society of Gothem.

"Why would you kill someone you didn't even know?"

"I knew them quite well, Dr. Leland. While I don't remember killing them, I am not troubled by their deaths."

"Carol, how did you know them?" Dr. Leland leaned in a bit to keep eye contact with Carol who was struggling to detach her self from Dr. Leland's brown eyes.

"It doesn't matter. Their dead and rotting away. All that's left is a name." Carol was biting on her lower lip, trying desperately not to cry. A single tear managed to get through this barrier though. Dr. Leland knew that the tear she shed was not for her actions but for herself, as though she was the one who was dead.

"Carol? Shh…it's alright." Dr. Leland rested her hand on Carol's back. "I'm only trying to help you and understand why you did what you did."

Carol lifted her head up, slowly "I don't have a name Dr. Leland, what's left when I die?"

"….Memories…how others remember you." Memories of another girl, younger then Carol flashed through Dr. Leland's mind. That's all it was, a flash and then nothing but a blurred image.

Carol shook her head "Memories are distorted by the name. The Rolland's are remembered for money and charity. Had they not come from wealth they'd be remembered for me and nothing else."

"What do you mean by that? Carol?"

Carol smiled "Our time's up." She pointed to the clock on the wall behind Dr. Leland.

Indeed the time was up on their session. Dr. Leland, if she had any power would have continued with session and coerced Carol into telling her exactly what she meant but Dr. Bartholomew was the one in charge of her and everything else in Arkham. He wanted all patients back in ether their cells or solitary right after therapy. Still Dr. Leland would be seeing her in two hours for group therapy; perhaps there she could get Carol to talk more.

As Carol was being escorted back solitary by one of the guards Dr. Leland called to her "I'll see you at three for group therapy." Carol waved goodbye, leaving Dr. Leland alone.

* * *

Dr. Leland returned to her office but did not turn on the lights. Instead she sat in the dimly lilted room, aided only by Gothem's eternally bleak sky. She sat at her desk, where a smiling face waited for her. A happy face that she'd never see age, never see cry, never see change. Forever a happy face in the green hand made dress. Forever her baby.

* * *

It was three o'clock and Jervis, Jonathan, and Edward took their seats much the same as they had the day before. Jervis had been given back his hat as they could find no trace of his mind control band. Jervis was more then happy with this and he kept feeling the brim of his hat compulsively, as though he were afraid that it was going to simply walk off. Jonathan was mumbling a nursery rhyme to himself and Edward solved a crossword puzzle in his mind. Edward had been denied any accesses to puzzles or riddles, not even so much as a joke book so he had learned to resort to just thinking of solving puzzles and equations. Dr. Leland entered; she took her seat and greeted everyone warmly. The last to arrive was Carol, once again in handcuffs. "Hi Jonathan, Hi Eddie, Hi Jervis!" Carol took her seat beside Jervis. It was her seat and no one else's and Carol was damn proud to be there. If Dr. Leland hadn't noticed it before, she certainly did now; Carol was in love with Jervis Tetch.

Jervis was still feeling a bit awkward about having someone be so affectionate towards him; and of their free will.

Dr. Leland looked at Carol; she sat perfectly still wearing a shy smile. Her hands neatly folded in her lap, her gaze ever lingering towards Tetch. It seemed to Dr. Leland that in Tetch's presence Carol only knew how to respond by being the perfect porcelain doll. Soulless and innocent, yet fragile just the same.

"_Memories are distorted by the name. The Rolland's are remembered for money and charity. Had they not come from wealth they'd be remembered for me and nothing else." What did she mean by that?_

* * *

**EN: Sorry to cut this chapter short but I'm not feeling all that well, in fact I'm home from school today. I'll pick back up on this later. See you soon ^_^**


	3. Therapy

**Full Summary****: We all at one point or another have fallen for someone who did not love us back. For Jervis Tetch it was when he fell in love with Alice Pleasance, for the new girl at Arkham it's when she fell for The Mad Hatter. Mean while Dr. Leland must struggle to cope with her daughter's death, her failing marriage, and her patients' twisted problems. All this leads her to question reality it's self and the true nature of humanity. OC X Jervis, Jervis X Alice**

**Warning: Rating may be subject to change, bloody scenes and lemons to follow in later chapters. **

**AN: For those of you who don't know, in the comic books Scarecrow was shown to have been abused by his grandmother who locked him in an attic that was filled with bats that would attack poor Jonathan. The Riddler was also abused as a child by his father because his dad was jealous of his son's intelligence. This knowledge will come in handy later in the story. **

* * *

July 9th, 1992

"Carol? Before when we were talking about The Rolland's you said that if it wasn't for their wealth, they'd be remembered for you. What did you mean by that?"

"It was nothing." But Carol's expression told a different story and Edward picked up on this right away.

"A liar tells you their lying, are they lying or telling the truth?"

Jonathan and Jervis thought about Edward's riddle but Carol blurted out "I'm not a liar."

"Caught on to that pretty fast, didn't we? Perhaps you'd care to take a guess as to what the answer is?"

Carol thought about it for a moment and said "If their lying, then their lying and if they tell they truth about lying then their still lying."

Edward nodded "That's exactly right."

Jervis thought he'd give it a shot as well "Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

"There are two answers to that, the one Lewis Carroll gave years after the riddle was first asked and the one that a riddle genius came up with. The former being "Because it can produce a few notes, though they are very flat; and it is never put with the wrong end in front." And the latter being "Poe wrote on both."

Jervis grinned "Very impressive my dear."

Edward rolled his eyes, his arms were crossed "Jervis, next time ask a different riddle please. We've heard that so much that I could recite the whole answer in my sleep. By the way, Carol that 'riddle genius' was me; I came up with the concept of Poe having written on both a writing desk and a raven when I was 19."

"Really? Well, thank you Eddie for giving that riddle a proper answer." Carol smiled, genuinely thankful for Edwards's gracious contribution to society. Edward raised an eyebrow, she confused him, so.

"Putting riddles aside for a while….I'd like you to be honest with us and answer my question." Stated Dr. Leland

Carol looked up at Jervis with questioning eyes. He placed a hand on Carol's shoulder, the signal to speak and answer at least this one question.

"The Rolland's beat me." Carol swallowed hard and kept her eyes fixed on her hands. "What I meant before was that if they weren't rich, if they had no power the only thing people would remember them for would be the truth. The truth of how they beat me."

The room fell silent.

Tetch pulled Carol close to him and whispered "You poor child." with bitter sorrow.

The other inmates began to think of their own sorted childhoods.

"You are not alone in this Carol." Said Dr. Leland. "In fact the others here were all abused and neglected by their guardians. Take Professor Crane, he was beaten by his grandmother and locked up in an attic full of bats. Through this he learned to fear both bats and his own loss of control."

Jonathan glared at Dr. Leland

"I knew that already, I read his file." Carol looked up at Jervis, who was still holding her tightly

"What I don't understand is why anyone would want to hurt you."

She frowned and her eyes traced of Jervis' face for an answer, but found nothing.

_I always thought Jervis' mom was an angel with blond hair who'd read him stories and tuck him in at night, but now that angel could have been a demon for all I know…._

"WAIT! YOU GOT A HOLD OF MY FILE! HOW!"

Crane was shouting loudly in Edward's ear though his anger was being directed with full force at Carol.

Carol shrugged "It's not that hard to get a hold of anyone's files. There all in Dr. Bartholomew's office in a filing cabinet. Their categorized alphabetically then sub categorized by severity of the case."

Jonathan was fuming and his fits were clenched

"You're an eight, by the way." Carol stated with no emotion on her face. Jonathan looked like he was about to pounce with intense fury on Carol.

"Professor Crane! Please restrain your self! Carol you've been in solitary confinement, how did you get into Dr. Bartholomew's office?"

"I have my ways." A devilish grin swept across her face.

"Dr. Leland I demand that she be punished! I am the master of fear and I command that you not have my file so easily available to miscreants like her!"

Carol couldn't help but feel a tad bit insulted and ashamed. She slumped down in her chair "I'm sorry Professor Crane." Her voice was a barely audible whisper.

"Don't worry Professor Crane; I'll see to it the Carol stay in solitary confinement for at least another week with more guards outside the door." Dr. Leland turned back to Carol. "Carol, the other were abused by their guardians; sadly such things are very common. The Rolland's however were not your parents and share no blood relation to you, so why would they beat you?"

"I…I…ugh…" Carol slummed down even more in her seat as she searched for the right words, all eyes fell upon her. Dr. Leland swayed her on and Jonathan inspected her meticulously. He was still very angry at her. As for Jervis and Edward, they were simply wondering what other little shockers would come flying out of that porcelain faced girl's mouth. "I…I was their slave." Carol kept fumbling with her fingers. "I…I guess that's what you'd call it anyways. Work without pay and all that. It's very common for the wealthy to be sold children from other countries and keep them as slaves. Most children are lured in with the promise of school and a better life. I guess the same thing can happen to American children as well, although I didn't actually have a choice."

"That's…That's horrible." Said Dr. Leland "People have no right to do that. Carol, was there anything else that happened while you were living with the Rolland's?"

Carol shook her head

Dr. Leland knew she was lying but felt that it could be brought up later. Dr. Leland tried to see the situation now from a new protective. _Abuse that couldn't be stopped and help that couldn't be found, did she really have a choice? And how do her blackouts tie into all of this? What about her sister Molly, what happened to her if both girl where found by the same people?_

Just then the door to the therapy room opened up. In walked two guards with two familiar faces in their clutches. Jervis and Jonathan smiled, their old friends were back. Edward, however appeared to be indifferent.

The guards let the two women go. The blond on with a huge grin on her face and pigtails greeted them all warmly "Hi Jervis, Hi Professor Crane, Hi Eddie!"

_Oh so that's it. _Carol thought while looking at a ticked of Edward Nygma _He just doesn't like anyone who calls him Eddie. _

"Hello Mrs. Quinn" smiled Tetch

"Good Evening Child." Nodded Jonathan

_Child? She's young but she's certainly not a child _Thought Carol remembering how she had first met Harley Quinn. For that same reason she refrained from making her self noticeable.

The redhead scanned the room, obviously disappointed by the women to men ratio that plagued the asylum. Then she noticed Carol, She pulled up the empty chair next to Carol and straddled her self over the seat like an arrogant boy. "It's about time we got a new woman to join the ranks in Arkham. Since you're in this particular group for therapy, you must have done something really fun."

_Woman? When did I become a woman?_

Carol did not like the red-haired woman. She tugged on Jervis' sleeve and he looked down at her.

"I'm Pamela Isley but you can call me Ivy. What's your name?"

"I'm sorry Mrs. Isley but it would appear that Carol doesn't like you very much." Spoke Tetch

Pam was very insulted by this, though she felt more hostility towards Jervis at that moment then she did towards Carol. "Carol!" Harley gasped as she finally noticed the young girl beside Jervis. "I hav't seen ya in foreva!" squealed Harley as she wrapped her arms about Carol. "…Hello Harley…"

Another little surprise for everyone in that room. Not only did Carol have prior sightings of Jervis before her incarceration but she also had known Harley Quinn.

"Wait a minute! Harley, Carol do you know each other?" questioned Dr. Leland

Harley let go of Carol and sat in an empty chair. "Ya we met when Mista J was robbing the Grays' home."

The Grays were yet another prominent family, though not nearly as famous or wealthy as the Rolland's were. The Grays had been found dead over a year ago, they had been killed by the Joker. Their home had been just across the street from Wayne Tech. Dr. Leland figured that it was there where Carol had first seen Jervis._ How many families had this girl been with? _Dr. Leland wondered.

"…Mista J let her live cause' she thought his jokes were funny but he almost killed her when she started crying over the kids."

"Yes, if I remember correctly the children were found in a closet; both of them had been shot in the head."

Silence filed the room briefly. It was clear to everyone except Harley that Carol hated her for letting those children get killed.

Jonathan smirked at Pam "So what failed plant trick did you pull this time Pam?"

"It wasn't specifically to do with plants this time. Harley and I just busted some gentlemen's club for not playing nicely with girls…oh and we stole a 650,000K gold trophy from their little vault."

"Oh how could Batman have caught you, it was just so full proof." Sarcasm was clear in Jonathan's voice "Harleen? Were you and Pam working together?"

Harley nodded proudly "Yep, we make a great team."

"Dare, I ask my Child what happened to the Joker?"

Harley pouted and sighed loudly but it was Pam to respond

"That lousy lowlife beat her and kicked her out!"

"Oh, I'm sorry was I talking to you?"

"No but you are now, so leave Harley alone."

"I was merely asking Harleen a question, after all we are friends." Jonathan gave a quick wink at Harley who seemed both confused and embarrassed. Carol wondered if she was the only one who saw that.

"Stop calling her Harleen, its Harley now!"

"Stop acting as if you own her. The only reason why you're so touchy is because you haven't gotten laid in a long time."

Harley nodded in agreement with Jonathan but Pam saw this and snapped at Harley. Before long it was an all out brawl between Harley and Pam. Jonathan was quietly enjoying himself and the lovely view of the two women strangling each other over nothing. Eventually their stupid little fight was put to a stop by the guards and Dr. Leland.

"Alright now unfortunately were all out of time today but before you all return to your cells is there anything you'd like at ask?"

Harley raised her hand like a kid in elementary school

"Yes, Harley?"

"If Carol's only 16, then why is she here?"

* * *

After returning to solitary confinement, where Carol would be for another week with good behavior; she found her self deep in thought. She was propped up against the padded wall, her straight jacket making things very uncomfortable. Carol knew that there was more to her story with the Rolland's and the Grays and the other families. She knew that worse things besides being beaten had happened to her, and she was happy that she didn't have to share them with Jervis, just yet anyways. The others were in the Recreation room, a place that Carol had yet to see. She wondered what a rec room was like. She began to hum a familiar tune "…Will you, won't you? Will you, won't you?, Will you, won't you, join the dance?..."

* * *

That night Dr. Leland came home to her apartment, expecting it to be empty but to her surprise it wasn't. "…Henry your home..?..."

Joan didn't know how to react. She stood by the door with a dumb faced expression. Henry Leland, Joan's husband was actually home. He even appeared to be sober, tired but there and awake just the same. _What brought this on?_

"…I'm sorry. I'll go."

"No…no wait. Please…stay. Do you want coffee?"

Henry appeared awkward and ashamed to be caught in such a situation.

He walked over to his wife and touched her arm. He touched her then for the first time since….that day.

"Joan…I…I just can't."

He turned away and touched to doorknob "You still blame me, huh?"

"No…I don't blame you."

"Yes you do! That's why you don't look at me, make love to me….this is the first time I've seen you awake in five years."

Henry sighed heavily. "I…I…just can't do this right now." Henry opened the door and left for the bars no doubt. Dr. Leland was alone again. She fell to the floor and sobbed.

* * *

**EN: Ok well I've been over my sickness for a while now but due to the fact that I have a life outside the realm of the computer it's been difficult to find time to sit down and write. I'm preparing for NYAF (New York Anime Festival) w****hich is happening in a few days from now. Also there's school and what not. Plus I just started reading this book called "Let The Right One In". The movie "Let Me In" was based on it. I'd like to take this time to thank everyone who commented on this story. I find it kind of funny that anyone would want to read this but it's nice to know that somebody likes it. Hopefully I'll be able to write more soon. I have the whole story planned out in my head I just gotta right it down and we'll be all set. So once again thank you all every much. **


	4. Chess,Lolita,and Dr Leland

**Full Summary: We all at one point or another have fallen for someone who did not love us back. For Jervis Tetch it was when he fell in love with Alice Pleasance, for the new girl at Arkham it's when she fell for The Mad Hatter. Mean while Dr. Leland must struggle to cope with her daughter's death, her failing marriage, and her patients' twisted problems. All this leads her to question reality it's self and the true nature of humanity. OC X Jervis, Jervis X Alice**

**AN: Oh Goody! I'm up to the 4th Chapter! Let's have some fun ^_^**

**Warning: I did a real rush job with the editing so there is probably a bunch of spelling mistakes.**

* * *

July 16th, 1992

A week had passed and Carol was now out of solitary confinement, unfortunately for her she found herself in a cell across from Harley Quinn's. Carol had confessed her distain towards Harley about what Harley had forced Carol to witness. Harley tried to explain to Carol that she didn't want the children to die, especially not to be shot in the heads but 'Mista J' was the one in control and there would have been no way that Harley could have stopped him. Carol simply refused to listen.

Carol had been leaving her cell without anyone's knowledge. She was good and slipping past guards and other inmates. She was an expert at making herself invisible. Carol had even managed to leave the asylums grounds without being detected then she simply snuck back in. Carol left mainly for better food and to get some fresh air. While she had no money she found that by simply asking people for whatever, always got her what she wanted. Carol could only call it "her childish charm", as she her self could not explain why people were so willing to give her handouts. Harley and the others knew that she had escaped before and they couldn't understand why she'd return. Only Carol knew why…

'_Dr.__Leland, __where __would __I __go?__I __have __no __home __and __no __intention __of __devoting __my self __to __a __life __of __crime.__There __simply __is __no __purpose __in __leaving .__Arkham __is __my __home __and __my __hell.__Besides __if __I __left __then __I__wouldn't __get __to __talk __to __Jervis __anymore.'_

Ah! Yes Jervis Tetch. Indeed he had grown rather found of Carol as she had of him; though Carol's 'fondness' was border line stalking or so Dr. Leland put it. The only one in Arkham who was left completely blind to Carol's fixation of Tetch was Jervis himself. Jervis had begun to look at Carol as a confidant, to whom he would speak of Alice Pleasance to without feeling judged or threatened. Carol didn't mind this but she did become slightly perturbed when he'd stare off into space and start humming the Mock Turtle's song. She was not of 'his world', she would never be 'Alice' or any other character created by Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll). This troubled her in more ways then she could express and it led her to strike a closer bond between both Jonathan and Dr. Leland.

Today Carol would walk proudly into the Rec Room for the first time since her arrival in Arkham. She entered the room and scanned it over very quickly. She saw a giant top hat sticking out of the back of the couch. Carol with swift hands plucked the hat from its owner's head and ran off. Jervis turned around, panicked stricken "Who took my hat! I keep them to sell I have none of my own!"

Carol tapped Tetch on his back and Jervis flipped back around to find Carol sitting next to him with his had atop her head. The hat was far too big for Carol to wear and it slunk down, covering her face (except her mouth).

She smiled triumphantly

Jervis raised an eye brow and shook his head. He took his hat back. He was amused but he was having fun playing annoyed. This little imp was into games after all. Carol crawled over to him and lay her head down on his lap. By now Jervis was more then accustomed to having Carol follow him around and squeeze the life out of him.

Carol looked up at him "Watcha doing?"

"I'm watching television until Jonathan gets here. Then I shall beat him at chess." He stated this with confidence.

"How do you know your going to win?"

"Because I've never lost a game of chess to Jonathan. Still he tries. Have you ever played chess before?"

Carol smiled and nodded her head

"Good then you may play after I've won."

A short while later Jonathan entered the Rec room looking like absolute shit. He'd had a run in with one of the guards last night as he tried to escape. Jonathan had reached for what he thought was his fear toxin but when he went to spray the guards with it, rubber snakes fell out instead. Apparently before the Joker had escaped all those weeks ago, he had replaced the fear toxin with a gag trick. Due to this unforeseen incident Jonathan had been pummeled to the ground and heavily drugged. The only question on everyone's mind was "How in the hell is he still able to walk?"

"Hi Jonathan!" chirped Carol

Jonathan moved away from Carol's reach and motioned to Jervis to follow him. The two men walked over to the chess table. Carol walked behind Jervis.

Jervis sat on one side of the table and Jonathan on the other, the chess pieces had already been set up.

Jervis crossed his legs and delicately picked up one of the chess pieces, smiling with his Cheshire cat grin. The master was at his work.

Jonathan sat hunched over, rubbing his chin furiously as he carefully thought out his move. He looked up to find Carol standing there in between the two men.

Jonathan flapped his wrist at her "Shoo! Go away."

Carol just stood there.

"Carol, we shall play afterwards. Why don't you go read something?" Jervis pointed to three large bookshelves.

"Tetch don't be stupid. She probably doesn't even know how to read. It's not as if she went to school."

"Actually I can read, and write, and do math."

Jonathan scoffed "And where pray tell did you learn all that?"

"Molly taught me. She made friends with one of our neighbors and he taught her so she taught me."

"You see Jonathan; she is a very smart young girl. So stop picking on her and let's return to our game."

And just like that Carol went back to being ignored. She felt strange being away from Jervis. She remembered the first time that she saw him…

**#Fashback#**

"Lucy! Natalie! You're going to be late for school!" Carol called, lunch boxes in her hands

Two little girls came down the stairs, practically shoving one another as they both hurried to get down stairs first.

"Be careful or you'll hurt your selves." Carol warned the twins.

As Lucy grabbed her lunch box she noticed Carol's arm.

"Is that how you hurt yourself?"

"Huh? Oh that…that was nothing. A simple mishap in the kitchen." Carol gave her patented fake smile at the younger girl.

The girl's took their lunch boxes and grabbed their backpacks.

"Bye, Carol!" they said in unison as they opened the door and left to catch the bus.

Leaving, Carol alone.

Carol clutched her arm and re-observed her fresh cut. _'A __simple __mishap __in __the __kitchen'_

More like a kitchen knife…

Still work with The Grays had been Carol's first chance at near peace. Nothing Mr. Gray could do to her would ever top the others. She'd finally caught a break. Mr. and Mrs. Gray were gone most of the time at work and Carol's primary duty was to care for the Grays twin children, Lucy and Natalie. They reminded Carol of her life when she was still with Molly. They were even 7, the same age Carol and Molly were when….

Carol sighed, it was sometimes all too much to bare.

Carol made her way over to the large window in the living room. It had a beautiful view of downtown Gothem. A view that so many would die for.

Carol looked across the way into the next building. It was a business corporation known as WayneTech, a division of Wayne Enterprise.

Then something caught her attention. A man with blonde hair working in one of the offices. It was hard to tell exactly what he was doing so Carol took out Mr. Gray's telescope for a better view. He had a strange sort of headband on, made of metal and he was working with lab mice. The lab mice, as Carol noticed sat on tiny chairs and poured each other tiny cups of tea. The mice also had on their heads the same headband that the blond man wore. _'Amazing__…__'_ thought Carol '_Is __he __actually __controlling __those __mice's __minds __with __that __head__band?'_

But then a loose wire fell out of the headband and the mice began to trample over the table. The man looked absolutely heart broken as though his entire life depended on those mice, or the headband. _'That poor man.I really hope he can get it to work.'_

Then a woman entered the room. She had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and she wore a simple white shirt and a long blue skirt. Her face although plain did possess this strange sense of beauty and innocence. That was it, innocence in its simplicity. The man appeared to be very embarrassed but not by his failure, but just by being seen at all by her. The woman placed a hand on the man's shoulder, smiled and laughed. All this made the man blush. It made Carol blush too. She couldn't explain why but she felt happy and somehow comforted by this odd little exchange. She had to find the man's name. She searched around the room with the telescope. She saw a large paining of 'The Mad Tea Party' scene from _Alice's __Adventures __In __Wonderland_.

'_He's __a __fan __of __Charlie's __too!'_

Carol then scanned over the door and found the sign. _'Bingo!'_

Carol murmured to her self "Jervis Tetch."

She smiled genuinely for the first time in a long time.

**#Flash back Ends#**

Carol had continued to observe Jervis and Alice through the telescope until one day when Mr. Gray had come home early and found her. Carol received two black eyes and a week without food for that, but the joke would be on him because the next day he and the rest of the Gray family would be murdered by The Joker.

Carol wondered over to the bookshelves and began to search through them, but she found nothing. She was about to ask the guard standing next to her but the guard broke in first "No we don't have any Alice books or anything by Carroll."

"That's a real shame. Oh and his name is Charlie."

"What?"

"Lewis Carroll's real name was Charlie. Don't you have anything good to read?'

The guard thought for a moment, and it was certainly a rare sight. "You're that girl who has a crush on the Hatter, right?"

"His name **is** Jervis."

The guard stepped in front of Carol and bent down on one knee. He pulled out a book and he handed it to her. "Trust me, you'll love it."

Carol looked down at the cover of the book. It had a close up picture of a young girl's smiling lips. In small script it read _Lolita __by __Vladimir __Nabokov_

"Thank You." And Carol walked off and sat down at a near by table and began to read. "_Lolita __light __of __my __life, __fire __of __my __loins,__my __sin,__my __soul. __Lo-lee-ta__…__"_

Carol read with her mouth agape as she struggled to take in the intense, emotion filled text that lay before her. One page after the next. Each word filled with so much depth, to the point that Carol felt like she was about to drown in someone else's words.

"Carol? It's your turn."

"Huh?'

Carol looked up; it was Jonathan standing over her with that same annoyed look on his face.

"I said it's your turn to play against Tetch." Then Jonathan noticed the book and he grabbed it from Carol's hands.

"_Lolita?_ It is without a doubt the best book for you. What page are you on?"

"62. Hey Jonathan? Why don't they have anything here by Charlie?"

"Because of Tetch. After all you don't want to aid in someone's obsessions. This is why I can't understand why you're still able to be around Tetch. I suppose that if it's an obsession that revolves around the libido then it's considered natural and sane."

Carol got out of her chair "You really need a vacation." Carol walked over to the chess table where Jervis was waiting for her and grinning devilishly as always.

* * *

A short while later Jonathan looked over to find that Carol and Jervis were gone. He looked over at the couch and he saw Carol curled up next to Jervis.

"What happened? I thought you two were going to play chess." Jonathan sat down on the other side of the couch.

"We did. Apparently I have found a worthy adversary." He smiled down at Carol. Jonathan rolled his eyes and pretended his hand was a gun as he brought it to his temple and "pulled the trigger".

* * *

July 19th, 1992

Carol sat in her cell bored out of her mind. Today was just one of those days. Boredom and silence rang through most of Arkham. You see once every week a doctor from Arkham is given the day off. Today just so happened to be Dr. Leland's day off. That meant that there would be no meals in the cafeteria, no therapy sessions, and no rec room time for any of Dr. Leland's patients.

That same morning two arms reached out of the covers and approached the suns morning rays. A yawn came out of the covers as the hands pulled off the blankets revealing a dazed Dr. Leland. Another nightmare like the night before last, and the nights before that as well. Another empty bottle of anti-depressants and sleeping pills sat on her night stand next to her daughter's photo. Just like the night before last. Dr. Leland wondered if her husband, Henry ever even came home last night. She made her way to the living room, the couch was empty. _"I __guess __he __stayed __at __a __friend's__…__again"_

Dr. Leland and Henry slept in different rooms and lived separate lives for the sake of their marriage. In order for them to be together they had to remain distant. Dr. Leland knew this was wrong and had tried to convince Henry to go with her to a councilor or simply just to talk to her, all this to no avail. Dr. Leland got dressed and drank her coffee only to remember that it was her day off and she had no where to go. Today she was not Dr. Leland she was just Joan. Joan, a woman who was born and raised in Gothem and received her PhD in criminal psychology at Gothem University. She had been so ambitious back then. She promised her self that she was going to save every patient that she was handed, that she would find the good in everyone and show it to the rest of society. Alas, the patients at Arkham were far from what she had expected when she had been so young and native. That's why when Harleen had first started working at Arkham she had warned her of the dangers and kept an eye on her. Yet right before her eyes Harleen had fallen for the Joker and become Harley Quinn, this was something that Joan had trouble forgiving herself over…one of many things. Now today was her day off and all she could think of was her patients and what sort of things might be happening at Arkham while she just sat there.

Admit fully it does sound rather strange when you can't help but wonder what's going on in an Asylum so think of it like this. Your friends are going to a party but your mom won't let you go so you spend the whole time thinking _"what's __happening __now?"_ and you get that sense that something really exciting is going on but you can't tell so it makes you anxious.

Joan had been working at Arkham long enough to know who would stay and who would at least try to escape. She knew who was talking about what or who would be trying to stab who. Still she felt like she had to be there.

A normal person would have called up their friends at this point and started gossiping about celebrities and talk of fashion, but Joan was friendless, a true loner by all accounts. This was strange because her face and demeanor could be quite entrancing.

Her loneliness was a product of circumstances.

Joan found herself thinking back to her sessions with Carol. They'd been talking more of philosophy then anything else, no matter what questions Joan had for her Carol always found a way to tie it into some larger point of life's many fascinations. It had been frustrating and interesting just the same.

Joan looked down t her clothes and at the clothes in her closet. She adjusted her headband and left her apartment. She decided that she'd try and have some fun and do some shopping.

* * *

July 20, 1992

At 7:15 on the dot, Dr. Leland made her way up the drive way of Arkham Asylum. She was happy to be back. As she turned up the winding rode she noticed something peculiar in one of the trees. She continued up the winding path and parked in the back where the parking lot was. She walked back down the rode and starred up at the tree. Dr. Leland saw Carol lounging peacefully on a long branch, high up in the tree. "Hi, Dr. Leland? How was your day off?"

"Carol, what are you doing up the tree!"

Carol sat up on the branch and stretched her arms up to another branch and plucked out a fresh red apple. "Resting…" Carol took a bite out of the apple and sighed with satisfaction. The apples were coming in nice and juicy, despite it being the wrong season.

"Carol, come down from there."

"I will when you tell me about your day."

"I'll tell you all about it when you get down here!"

"Fine but first, say it." Carol grinned

"I'm not going to bargain with you. Ether come down now and I'll tell you or I'll force you down here myself and you'll be in solitary for the rest of the month."

Carol thought for a moment before standing up on the branch "Just say it! Say it and then I'll come down and we can talk."

Carol made a sad puppy eyed plea

"Fine! But just this once!" Dr. Leland sighed heavily "I don't want to go among mad people."

"Oh you can't help that. Were all made here. I'm mad, you're mad…"

"How do you know I'm mad?"  
"You must be or you wouldn't have come here."

And just like that Carol jumped down from the tree. "Now was that so hard to do?" Carol took another large bite out of her apple.

"So, how was your day off?"

"It was fun." Dr. Leland lied "I went shopping."

"Really? So who'd you go with?"

"My friends."

"Dr. Leland, don't lie to me. I've been honest with you; you should give me the same courtesy."

Dr. Leland giggled "I'm not lying."

"There you go again. Let's be honest Dr. Leland, I'm the only friend you have."

"Carol, you're not my friend, you're my patient."

"Can't I be both?" Carol stopped walking and looked up at Dr. Leland for an answer. It was a clear "No."

"Well you're my friend, so we should be honest with each other."

"Just like you're honest with Jervis?"

"Touché. I will be honest with him, eventually about everything. Though it's not like I've lied about the unpleasantness of my past."

"You don't have to tell him if you don't want to."

"Yes I do, and I will. You keep telling me that if I really loved him then I'd tell him everything, and I do love him. One day I'll tell him everything."

The two of them remained silent for long time as they continued up the path to the asylum's entrance.

Then Dr. Leland broke in "Carol, please don't brake out again, even if it's just for a little bit. The more you keep getting out the more jeopardy you put my job in. Besides it's only a matter of time before someone other then me catches you leaving."

"So, what? If I get caught, which this is only the first time I have, then I shall be simply put into solitary. Even then I can still easily break out anytime I want to."

"Carol, if anyone but me caught you sneaking out, you would be put in the hydrotherapy tubs! Believe me when I say I've been more then lenient with you."

Carol had never really thought of it before but if Dr. Leland really wanted to she could have really punished Carol. The hydrotherapy tubs were bath tubs that were filled with ice cold water. Patients would be strapped down into the tubs with leather harnesses. Although it was never originally designed to be a form of punishment, the screams from the hydrotherapy room could be heard for miles. Due to its medieval torcher like appeal it did make nifty weapon against the patients.

Inside Arkham, Dr. Leland handed Carol over to an orderly who was to bring her to solitary confinement. Before parting ways Carol said "Thank you, Dr. Leland. Oh and by the way, Harley and Ivy broke out."

* * *

Carol sat there in her padded room. She was displeased that the orderly had made her straight jacket way too tight. She thought of what she and Dr. Leland had been talking about and she whispered "One day I'll tell you everything, Jervis. I'll tell you about what happened to me, I'll tell you things that I haven't even told Dr. Leland about, and one day…one day I'll even tell you that I love you."


	5. Nightmares

**Full Summary: We all at one point or another have fallen for someone who did not love us back. For Jervis Tetch it was when he fell in love with Alice Pleasance, for the new girl at Arkham it's when she fell for The Mad Hatter. Mean while Dr. Leland must struggle to cope with her daughter's death, her failing marriage, and her patients' twisted problems. All this leads her to question reality it's self and the true nature of humanity. OC X Jervis, Jervis X Alice**

**AN: I stopped writing this a while back because I personally was rather disappointed with the way my OC turned out. I have noticed though that even after abandoning my story people continued to review. I was surprised that so many people were actually enjoying this story but none the less flattered. I got the idea for this story when I was 12 so a lot has changed in both my life and writing style, or at least I think so. Anyways I'm resurrecting this ancient fanfic and will be waiting patiently for your reviews to this new chapter. Please sit back, relax, and enjoy.**

* * *

July 25, 1992

Carol felt warm and at ease as she began to drift off into a dream. She could hear gentle mumblings of other people in the background. Then Jonathan yanked her back by the collar of her uniform.

Carol was startled as she almost fell off her chair. She had fallen asleep in group therapy, again. Carol rubbed her eyes as Dr. Leland gave her another lecture about how rude she was being to Edward and the others for not listening to their stories of whoa.

"Carol I told you to get more sleep. What time did you go to bed last night?"

"Uh…" Carol was trying to think but that was only giving her a headache. It was far too early for her to be thinking of numbers.

"Carol, please pay attention or I'll have to send you back to your cell."

Carol pushed herself up straight on the chair. She looked over at Jonathan while Edward continued his story about his father abusing him. It appeared that Jonathan was just as worn-out as the rest. He sat hunched over with his head perched in the palm of his hand. Harley had to keep pinching herself to stay awake and Ivy was completely zoning out.

It wasn't that they were uninterested; they were just too damn tired to concentrate. Carol wondered why this was, as for herself she had been experiencing horrifically vivid nightmares. Since she couldn't sleep she had been keeping herself up by reading _Lolita_. _'Are they having nightmares too?' _thought Carol.

"…To this day I'm still unsure as to why he did it" finished Edward

Dr. Leland nodded then looked up at the clock

"We'll continue with you, Edward tomorrow."

The room heaved a great sigh. It was back to their cells, some to dream other to think, and for Carol to read until she was so numb that if she did fall asleep no dream could find her.

* * *

July 26, 1992

"Good Night Red!"

"Good Night Professor Crane!"

"Good Night Carol!"

"GOOOD NIGHT ARKHAM!"

This was Harley's nightly ritual. It was something that she was so dedicated to that she'd call out literally every Arkham inmate's name. This was a process that sometimes took hours, or at least until the guards came by and forced her to shut up. Carol and the others had become rather accustomed to this and whether Harley realized it or not, Jonathan would whisper back each night "Goodnight Harleen."

The lights were turned off automatically in all the cells, only a handful of hall lights were still lit. Carol sat up in her bed with her ear pressed up against the wall. She was listening to the conversations of other inmates. Harley and Ivy spoke of escaping, shopping, and at Harley's request boys and sex. She could hear the loud shouts of guards as a lesser known inmate tried to escape but failed miserably. She could even hear the doctors as they walked to the exit. Carol was so tired but she couldn't sleep, she refused to. It was around 11 when everything got quite; not even the sound of snoring could be heard. The silence was so loud that it frightened Carol and the quicken beat of her heart was the only thing that rang through her ears. Carol ducked down underneath the paper thin blanket and began reciting _Faces in The Fire_ by Lewis Carroll.

Jonathan lay in his bed, wide awake. He was fumbling around with his fingers. Jonathan was bored and desperately trying to convince himself that he wasn't tired and that he wasn't afraid to close his eyes. No never, Jonathan could never be afraid of anything. He was terror, he was in control. He would never allow himself to be sucked in by someone else and forced to feel the fear. Jonathan was God of fright and torment but he himself was still so greatly tormented. He was tormented by of all things something so silly and childish; nightmares. He looked across the way to see Tetch sleeping; tossing rather. Tetch was having another nightmare. His body was violently thrashing about; his lips though mute were clearly trying to scream. After observing Tetch for a while Jonathan tucked himself in and prepared himself for another long and endless night.

_A young boy gazed down upon his mudded shoes in an utter panic. He hoped with intense desperation that his __Grandmother would not notice the now stained carpet. His hope soon faded as he felt a strong yet bony hand pull him up by the collar of his shirt. The fear sank in and his lanky appendages shook uncontrollably. In the back of his mind he thought of calling out for his mother to rescue him but even he knew that it would have been a pathetic and oh so vain attempt at escape. _

"_Look what you've done to my carpet, you little brat!"_

_His twitching stopped and he went limp, he knew what was coming now and it was pointless to try and stop it. _

"_I know how to fix you!" She tugged up on his collar, half leading and half pulling him up the stairs and into the attic. He saw the door now mere inches away from his bulbous nose and he cringed. He begged her not to, he promised he'd clean the carpet, that he'd never do it again, never be so foolish to enter her house when it had just rained. All of this was to no avail. His grandmother opened the attic door and tossed him into the darkness. She closed the door and locked it up tightly. She'd sent him there to pray and to cry. She loved to imagine him in agony. It was from her that Jonathan Crane first learned that even a seemingly innocent old lady could be a sick minded sadist. _

_He remained still hopping not to awaken the creatures that dwelled in the attic, for he knew that he was never truly alone. Then he heard the ear pinching shrieks, the wings flapping, and the creatures of the dark coming towards him. He turned towards the door, screaming and banging as loud as he possibly could. He banged and banged until his knuckles turned red and opened up, drops of blood went flying with every strike he made and still they came closer and began their relentless attack upon him. Screeching and clawing him, going for his back and arms. They were able to see him clearly but he could barley make out their form. Those bats which terrified him so. They alone who could make him crumble to the floor. _

Jonathan's eyes shot open. He did not say anything. He did not move. He would not allow himself to arouse suspicion, he was not afraid, he had never been afraid. Memories were such stupid things anyway, memories were nothing at all.

As for Carol she'd fallen asleep without realizing it. Too many late nights had finally done her in. Nothing could ever get her away from her nightmares.

_All around her was shadow, scrambled images like in TV static rose and submerged before her. The image of an alley way came into view. Carol looked down at the ground and saw a rotted corpse lying at her feet; it was so badly decomposed that she could hardly make out a face. All she could see was long black hair draping down the back of its small frame__. The rancid smell hit her and she could barley stomach it. She backed away from the decaying flesh and held her nose closed. Carol felt something wet and sticky filling up on her fingertips. She removed her hand from her face and gasped in horror. Her hands were caked in fresh blood and it pooled in her palm then slid off in clumps to the ground. _

_She saw that in her other hand she held a knife that was covered in the same crimson liquid as that of her hands. She felt nauseous and she collapsed. A voice came, a familiar one filled with mock._

"_This is why you're here. Because you let me continue living inside of you. You can be so gutless; when you stabbed me you didn't even use enough force. Don't worry though as long as I'm here your safe that is until I take over this body we share and remove you permanently."_

_Carol tried to follow the voice but it seemed to be coming from all around her. She knew that voice. She knew those words. They were true, all of it was true. Carol got up and struggled to stand up straight, she walked down the alley way searching for that voice. Its presence was everywhere and yet no where at all. _

_Clear liquid fell down her cheeks, she looked up into the sky; it was raining._

Carol was back in reality, standing outside in the pouring ran, her uniform drenched. She heard thunder off in the distance. Carol examined her hands with fierce apprehension; she found them empty but to her they were still and forever would be stained with blood.

Inside the walls of Arkham Tetch's own nightmare was still raging on at a painfully slow rate.

_A little boy with a large tough of blonde hair hanging over his eyes sat up in his bed impatiently waiting for his mother to read to him, as she did every night__. His mother entered the room with swift grace; she was in a hurry that night as his father and she were to go out for once. A true rarity and an absolute treat for his mother, but for Tetch it was an absolute nightmare. He was always a needy and often a fussy child, his one true attachment to this strange reality of his was his mother. She seemed to him a mix between the reality he had been forced to live in and the magical world of Wonderland. She was all dolled up for her night out and yet she still made time for a story. _

"_And what shall we read tonight?" _

_Jervis pulled out a book from underneath his pillow, it was __**Through the Looking Glass**_

_His mother smiled and took hold of the book "The squeal then? This truly is a special night." She tousled his hair and brought his bangs back so she could properly see her darling son's eyes. She read in her usual way of giving each character their own individual voice and tone. He often thought that his mother, if given the chance, would have made an excellent actress. __She was hardly half way through the book when his father entered the room. His father was a rather tall and awkward looking man. He had a sharp nose and wavy brown hair. He also bore a rather prominent over bite, that Jervis had the misfortune to inherit. He often wondered why it was that such an elegant beauty like his mother had ended up marring someone like that. His father was a kind and soft spoken man so; he supposed that it made up for his unfortunate looks. _

"_Darling are you ready to go?"_

"_Yes, just let me tuck in Jervis."_

_His father offered him a nod and said "Goodnight." _

_Jervis' mother tucked him in tightly, though he pleaded with her not to go. She kissed him softly on the cheek before turning to leave. In an instant Jervis found himself no longer in the safety of his bed but outside in the road staring out at a traffic accident. There was a woman hanging outside of one of the cars; she'd gone straight through the windshield. _

Jervis panted heavily as he swung himself forward in bed. His mother was dead and with her so too went Jervis' already frail grasp upon this thing called "reality."

He was caught of guard by the unexpected appearance of a feminine form standing inside his cell, clutching onto the bars. "Carol?" Jervis questioned hopping for a nod or some other response as with the night's events even he was beginning to suspect that their was to be some great monster roaming the halls. The figure did not answer, rather stood there shaking like a leaf and murmuring contorted words and struggling to find meaning within them. Lightning stuck down and illuminated the cell, allowing Tetch to see Carol's blue eyes more clearly. She wore a dead pan expression and her eyes were red and puffy from crying too much.

"Carol? What's the matter? Why are you crying?" Jervis moved to touch her shoulder. She was soaked.

"Carol, where you out in the rain?"

Still no reply came.

"If you stay in those clothes all night you're going to catch pneumonia." He handed her his blanket, turned his back and then instructed her to remove her wet clothes before she'd get sick. She did not take hold of the blanket when t was offered to her so he wrapped it around her shoulders. Although she did not say anything, as soon as his back was turned she did as she was ordered to do and she peeled off her clothes, which clung tightly to her body. When Tetch turned back around her found her sitting on the floor with her knees touching her chest and covered by the blanket. Carol reached out her hand from underneath the blanket and stared at it, still feeling the imaginary red ooze out of her palm. Jervis mistook this as a sign that she wanted his help to stand so he extended his own hand. She did not take hold of it; she merely stared at him, or rather passed him.

Tetch examined her current state and could not help but to think, how much like a doll she looked. Perfect, beautiful, and seemingly lifeless. Jervis could not help but to wonder "What if I could keep her like this forever?"

No, no, no! Humans were not nor could they ever truly be dolls, he'd tried that once before with Alice Pleasance only to find just how easily those lovely empty eyes could be replaced with sheer contempt and disgust. Humans are humans, simple plain beings. Still she was there and she was beautiful.

"It was only a dream wasn't it? Of course it was. Everything in my life has been just a dream." She reached her hand up now for Tetch to grasp it. When he did she could feel the sweat droplets ease down his palm.

"Did you have a bad dream to?"

She pulled herself up, without even needing to ask Jervis lead her to his bed, aware that she was to be staying the night. Carol kept the blanket tightly bound to her body as she lay down on her side. A normal person would instantly see the awkwardness in this situation but for Tetch the only truly awkward factor was that he had never been so close to another human being, psychically or otherwise, well unless you counted his mother. Jervis lay down on his back and twiddled his thumbs nervously.

"Jervis?" called Carol "What was Miss. Pleasance like?"

This was the first time that Carol had ever directly asked about Alice Pleasance and neither of them was sure as to why she would chose to bring it up now. After the words left Carol's lips she instantly regretted them.

Jervis sighed with nostalgia as he began to review everything from her scent to her shoe size.

"She was one of the sweetest, kindest, and gentlest people I dare say I've ever known. She was also very beautiful, absolutely gorgeous. She had such lovely blonde hair, the perfect colour and texture…" When he stopped talking her finally took notice of how much Carol was shivering. Jervis placed a hand on her and he felt just as uncomfortable as ever. As he did so Carol took hold of his arm and forced it around her. This caused Jervis to be placed in a rather contorted position and the only way to relive himself of it was to lie down side by side with Carol.

She would not let go, she couldn't. It was stupid of her to have brought up that blonde girl. If she wanted to stay happy Miss. Pleasance could not exist in ether her or Tetch's minds.

Jervis held her close though still uneasily. She was not blonde and she was no Alice but she was there and she was real.


End file.
